How Sound Doctrine Influences Every Area of the Christian Life Doctrine might be something you've heard in church, but how does it impact your life? Christian doctrine examines what the Bible teaches about particular topics, such as the nature of God, the nature of humanity, how humans should live, and more. By understanding biblical truths, believers have the tools to understand God, interpret Scripture, and live godly lives. In this addition to the Church Questions series, Samuel James addresses how doctrine influences every area of life for the believer. Many individuals know that their beliefs matter in certain areas of life, such as politics, but don't always understand how key biblical principles like the Trinity, ecclesiology, and the atonement should shape their everyday lives. It is easy to think that doctrine is only for theologians, but in reality, it is essential for everyone—humanity was created to know the truth about God, themselves, and the world. Part of the Church Questions Series: Developed to give biblical insight into common questions Ideal for New Christians: Introduction to the relationship between doctrine and living out the Christian life Short and Accessible Format: Concise, biblical teaching on the church's system of beliefs

A Masterpiece in Narrative Ecclesiology Watch the New Testament come alive! Understand God's Word like never before! The New Testament is often hard to understand. A major reason is because it is not arranged in chronological order. Paul's letters, for example, are arranged by size rather than chronologically. This makes the New Testament a bit like a Chinese puzzle! For this reason, one famous Bible scholar said that reading the New Testament letters is like hearing one end of a phone conversation. The book you hold in your hands reconstructs the other end so that you can understand virtually every word. "The Untold Story of the New Testament Church" is a unique Bible handbook that weaves Acts and the Epistles together chronologically . . . creating one fluid story. This epic volume gives readers a first-hand account of the New Testament drama that is riveting and enlightening. It includes dates, maps, and background information about the people, the cities, and the events of the first-century church using a "you-are-there" approach. Get up-close and personal with apostles Paul, Peter, James and John and learn of their personal struggles. Understand the circumstances behind each inspired letter they penned. Watch the chaotic swirl of first-century people and events fall into place before your very eyes. Discover what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" really was. Learn what happened to all the apostles after the book of Acts was finished. Be ushered into the living, breathing atmosphere of the first century and uncover the hidden riches found in God's Word.

Ever wonder how to put Jesus at the Center of your life? As a Christian, do you sometimes feel lost as to how to have a relationship with your Savior? In Saved By Grace, Now What? Pam walks through the questions we are sometimes afraid to ask and guides us to a deeper connection to the One who gave His life for us. She addresses the topics of finding our identity in Christ and growing our relationship with Him, instead of practicing religion. She discusses how we are to live out our faith, share it with others and fight our way through spiritual battles. You will find yourself relating with Pam as she shares her own struggles and walks with you through the journey to find intimacy with Jesus. This is a book you will want to keep handy and reference regularly.

The road, the way, the belief system that leads a human soul home and into the presence of God is not crowded. There are few who find it. So, it’s important to ask yourself: Are you on the right road? Elvin C. Myers, a former missionary and pastor to churches in Colorado, Virginia, and Florida, wrote this book to steer people away from errors that might damn their souls. The author draws on his more than sixty years of being a pastor to explore the differences between Protestant Evangelical beliefs and those of Catholicism. In doing so, he answers questions such as: Why is it incumbent on people who know the truth of the Lord to speak up? Does living a good life ensure someone will go to heaven? What are the consequences of being disobedient to the Lord? Can someone who is deeply religious still perish in hell? It is the author’s sincere hope that this book will lead you away from the judgment of hell and the lake of fire that is mentioned in Revelation 20:14–15, a place where the soul never dies.

Theology today is faced with increasing amounts of religious and theological pluralism. What is distinctive about Christian theology? Why do these ideas matter? And the biggest question of all: Who cares? Key aspects of orthodox theology are seen as speculative and irrelevant to "authentic" Christianity and to personal spirituality. While not succumbing to the pragmatism of the age, this book shows that key elements of Christian theology ground an integrated worldview and are essential for spiritual formation. Engaging Theology is an introductory theology textbook that grounds a treatment of standard systematic topics in the wider context of life and practice and shows the relevance of each doctrine to the church. The book treats the essential doctrines of Christian orthodoxy by following the pattern of story, doctrinal exposition, theological relevance, and spiritual relevance: Story: Each chapter begins with a brief and engaging account of the historical situation out of which the doctrine arose or where it played an essential role in the development of the church, showing students that orthodox theology matters and introducing them to most of the key theologians in the history of the church. Doctrinal Exposition: The heart of the chapter is exposition of key elements of the doctrine, highlighting core and debated elements while clarifying heterodox perspectives. Integrated with the narrative account this section also models the contextualized nature of theology. Each chapter includes biblical, historical, and contemporary views on the issue and notes key figures in the debates and their influence. Theological Relevance: While theological relevance is clear throughout each chapter, this section highlights relevance to the modern setting and concerns, including interaction with heterodox and non-Christian faiths. It identifies current theological problems besetting the church and shows how a proper understanding and integration of orthodox theology addresses these problems. It also points to other problems the church is facing for interesting discussion starters. Spiritual Relevance: Since orthodox theology has a direct influence on one's own spiritual formation and practice, each chapter concludes with practical encouragements and discussions about how each doctrine can be integrated in one's personal and corporate life. Engaging Theology is ideal for students and everyday people living in a post Christian era to help them seriously engage with the Christian faith.

Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.

This book provides a general introduction to the basic beliefs of Christian theology togther with their significance for Christian living and worship

We've all heard the statement (and maybe even said it ourselves), "It's all relative." But are moral truths relative? If that is the case, how then can there be universal human rights? McAndrew's book argues that if there are universal human rights, then moral truths also must be absolute. Society has moved from a worldview that accepted the existence of absolute truth to a world of relative truth. This paradigm shift was primarily motivated by a desire to render philosophy more scientific by eliminating metaphysical theories. But the twentieth century witnessed another shift after the Second World War. Out of that bloody conflict arose the recognition for the need to articulate human rights and hence the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, universal human rights make no sense in a morally relative world. A relative theory of truth is inconsistent with morally condemning acts of others, no matter how heinous. Why It Doesn't Matter What You Believe If it Isn't True challenges those who embrace the "human rights urge" to honestly look at the contradiction between relative truth and universal human rights and examine without prejudice to see where this leads them. This book is a concise and thoughtful call to value absolute moral truth.

The Book of Martyrs by John Foxe written in the 16th century has long been the go-to source for studying the lives and martyrdom of the apostles. Whilst other scholars have written individual treatments on the more prominent apostles such as Peter, Paul, John, and James, there is little published information on the other apostles. In The Fate of the Apostles, Sean McDowell offers a comprehensive, reasoned, historical analysis of the fate of the twelve disciples of Jesus along with the apostles Paul, and James. McDowell assesses the evidence for each apostle’s martyrdom as well as determining its significance to the reliability of their testimony. The question of the fate of the apostles also gets to the heart of the reliability of the kerygma: did the apostles really believe Jesus appeared to them after his death, or did they fabricate the entire story? How reliable are the resurrection accounts? The willingness of the apostles to die for their faith is a popular argument in resurrection studies and McDowell offers insightful scholarly analysis of this argument to break new ground within the spheres of New Testament studies, Church History, and apologetics.

Imagine what our world might look like if Christians became known for remarkable love, as well as life-giving truth. The stakes are high and the need is great for Christians to represent Jesus to a watching world. And today, we have more influence than ever before--for better and for worse. We are among the first generations to have access to a global megaphone through social media. But it's not enough to speak truth louder to a noisy culture. To counter the reputation Christians have earned, our love must be just as loud. Ask evangelist Matt Brown, and he will tell you Christians today are facing a crisis of influence. In our rush to speak truth to today's tensions, cultural issues, and trending controversies, it becomes all too easy to focus on proving our points rather than extending God's grace. Conversely, when we seek only to love yet never proclaim a better way, we short-circuit God's plan. Truth Plus Love invites you to rediscover the biblical framework for engaging culture as ambassadors of Christ. Through biblical insight, cultural analysis, and practical principles, Matt Brown outlines how to champion truth without compromise, how to love unconditionally, and ultimately, how to step into this great adventure of representing God to the world. It's hard, it's messy, and it's the unfinished project of a lifetime, yet here we find our great adventure: representing God to a watching world.